It may be a hotel restaurant, but there is nothing dull about this eatery, which serves fun, French-inspired fare in the typically Australian cheer of an old Queenslander, writes Anooska Tucker-Evans.
Many people consider hotel restaurants sterile, stuffy and almost cookie-cutter dull. But that is far from the case at The Balfour Kitchen in Spicers Balfour Hotel, New Farm.
The restaurant fills the front room, courtyard and tree-lined timber veranda that wraps around two sides of an elegantly refurbished old Queenslander. The rest of the property provides award-winning boutique accommodation.
While there’s a friendly formality to the experienced service, the space provides the casual charm and ease of having a dinner party on your best friend’s deck – it’s relaxed and quintessentially Queensland.
A steady stream of chefs has come and gone through the kitchen in the past few years and the latest to rattle the pans is Michelin-trained, French expat Jordan Clavaron.
After numerous stints at some of Brisbane’s top restaurants, including Urbane, E’cco and Public, the young gun has stepped up to the top job at Balfour. He’s designed a menu that’s rich in French technique with nods to Middle Eastern and Australian flavours – hello, Vegemite ice cream for dessert (more on that later).
Seamlessly bringing Europe and Syria together on the plate is charred octopus, with tender, bite-sized tentacle pieces met by dabs of buttery potato puree and a globule of the walnut and capsicum-based, chilli-infused muhammara sauce. It is simple, yet satisfying. Meanwhile, slightly tart labne fills firm tortellini on a walnut sauce with drizzles of burnt butter, plus pickled pumpkin and shavings of celeriac for crunch.
Wagyu brisket is tasty but not as tender or juicy as it could be. Better is the snapper – yielding against the knife atop a slick of al dente squid ink risotto and piquant capsicum puree, while a mound of slivered fennel adds brightness.
The highlight, however, is the aforementioned Vegemite ice cream, with just a hint of the breakfast spread adding saltiness to an intensely peanut buttery parfait, amplified by dots of piped peanut butter and chocolate ganache. It’s a slight adaption of a dish he did at Billykart West End and it is pure heaven for peanut butter lovers. It’s ironic that it takes a Frenchman to make Aussies appreciate the versatility of Vegemite.
A solid menu of signature cocktails, plus a crowd-pleasing, succinct, international wine list complete a package that appeals to both hotel guests and locals alike.
Comments
Join the conversation
Log in Register